Category Archives: VoIP Providers

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This past week the Business Technology Association (BTA) held the ‘Capture the Magic’ conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a two-day event with many educational sessions, networking opportunities, and informative speakers. Bicom Systems, a member of the BTA, attended this conference as a vendor.

The BTA was founded in 1926 for the purpose of serving office technology dealerships, resellers, manufacturers, distributors and service companies. The main members of the BTA are office technology dealerships. The copier business industry is starting to diminish. The world is going paperless and many new companies are jumping on board with the digital trend. Many speakers stressed how the industry is declining and how they should get into the VoIP and IT service industry. They are similar industries and we thought it would be a good opportunity for Bicom Systems to attend this conference.

So off we sent one of our account managers, Eric Johnson, to Las Vegas and here is what he had to say!

Q: What did Bicom Systems do at the conference? A: Everyone and everything was in the same room. This was really convenient because you didn’t miss out on anything. I got to participate in all the educational sessions, network, speak to potential customers and listen to all keynote speakers.

Q: Did we have a booth?A: Yes. We had a table set up and my most common question from the attendees was “what do you do?”

Q: You mentioned earlier that you got to participate in the educational sessions. What was that like?A: They were great! All the speakers were really interesting and extremely informative. My favorite was Sally Brause, a director of human resources consulting with a company called ‘GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp.’ She spoke about the challenges to change and how businesses and people are reluctant to change. Harry Hecht, a business coach, industry adviser and consultant, also gave a speech which was very engaging. He gave some social media tips and insights on how to engage customers using social media platforms.

Q: What kind of people attend this conference? Companies? Techies? A: A lot of business owners. Companies in the copier business who sell copy machines, faxes, scanners etc., Email marketing companies and IT organizations. Also, business owners who are looking for more revenue. Persons who are looking to add more to their offering to increase revenue.

Q: What was your main takeaway?A: That since the world is going paperless that companies in the copier business need to consider other revenue sources. I learned that a lot of people don’t realize the easiest way to add to that revenue stream is to add telephone services. Everyone and business needs/uses a phone. It is an extremely competitive industry and with the right provider, is easy to enter.

Q: If other businesses and customers were to ask if BTA was worth attending, what would your advice be?A: Yes! It was super beneficial to attend the ‘Capture the Magic’ conference this year. The speakers were great, the educational sessions were really informative and I learned a lot. The way businesses and consumers communicate all connect. VoIP and IT Services all flow into the fax, copier and scanner industry. The network opportunities at this conference were terrific. In my opinion, it was a home run shot.

Fusion Networks is a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) based out of New York. The were established in 2014 and have grown drastically since. With this growth came a huge influx in demand for voice-over IP, which is something they didn’t provide at the time.

In order to please their customers and remain competitive, Fusion Networks decided to partner with Bicom Systems to solve their problem. The main reason why Fusion chose Bicom was the flexibility, says Philip Simunek. Bicom’s solutions were easily customizable for their needs. Another key selling point was that Bicom provided “a great feature-set without nickel and diming you for everything.” Bicom’s competitive pricing also helped seal the deal, as Fusion would now have a competitive resale price. Implementation was fairly simple, with no need to halt operations as it was done remotely by simply installing the app onto the local servers.

Ever since adding VoIP to their already well-established set of offerings, Fusion Networks has been able to continue its growth.

Supporting individual telecommuters is much more cost-effective than supporting entire offices that require more hardware, furniture, even office space.

VoIP telecommuting via gloCOM makes it even more cost-effective with less spending and lower rates. It is simple to set-up gloCOM anywhere in the world with no need for special equipment or services. This is especially beneficial in countries where the company is not physically present or familiar with service providers.

Finally, telecommuting is often temporary, allowing companies to scale up and down as the budget allows.

Moving a business is often a lengthy and complicated process. While VoIP technology certainly means less hardware and cables to move, it still involves some planning and forethought. So the big question is : to take the VoIP System along or start over at the new address?

Traditionally, phone systems have always been purchased and owned. If this precedent has worked well for your business, there is no reason to change now. Owning an on-premise system gives control and peace-of-mind to the company. It is one more company asset that cannot be changed or taken away.

#2 CONTROL

Along the same lines as ownership, an onsite pbx system puts the control into the hands of the company. The in-house IT team can manage and customize the solution to fit current needs and even specific users. With all of the new features offered by VoIP, it only makes sense to have the control to use and change them as you wish.

#3 COST

While some companies will shy away from the larger up-front cost of an on-premise system, others will appreciate making a one-time investment. Unlike hosted systems, on-premise will not require monthly rent or other fees. On-Premise VoIP is less expensive than Legacy because it is software, rather than hardware, based.

#4 PARTNER RELATIONSHIPS

If you already have a good relationship with your providers there is no reason to change now. Your provider already has experience and knowledge of your company, users, and communication patterns. An onsite PBX solution allows you to stay with the same provider rather than start from scratch with a new vendor.

#5 IT TEAM

Companies switching from legacy to VoIP likely already have an experienced IT team in place. An on-premise system allows them to continue their current duties and carry the company through the transition to VoIP. Entrusting the new system to the current IT team will ensure a smooth transition.

In conclusion, there are many benefits to choosing an On-Premise Based PBX system. However there is a caveat; VoIP systems are inherently more complicated than legacy systems. They come with the advantage of an interface GUI to deal with this; however, the core skills to manage the network remain critical. The provider of your legacy system may not be familiar with these skills.